May 2017

Gnanasara Thero said that reconciliation cannot be discussed if the Government does not accept that Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country. The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) today ridiculed the chief prelates during a meeting with Minister of National Co-existence Dialogue and Official Languages Mano Ganesan. BBS General Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero said that there is no point in having talks with the chief prelates and obtaining their opinion on national issues. Gnanasara Thero said the chief prelates are there just to appear before the media, look good, meet Ministers and make statements. He said that the Minister must approach the monks and officials at ground level and discuss issues with them. A tense situation also arose when Gnanasara Thero asked if the Minister accepts that Sri Lanka is a Sinhala […]

Men in Sri Lanka are being raped in custody nearly a decade after the civil war, when sexual assault was routinely used to torture detained Tamils, a report said Wednesday. The rape of men and boys remains widespread but unreported, with victims unwilling to come forward due to social stigma and laws criminalising same-sex relations, the All Survivors Project said in its report. Rape was rife during Sri Lanka’s 37-year civil war, but unlike cases involving women there has been little official record or acknowledgement of men being abused by their captors. At least 100,000 people were killed during the separatist war between government forces and rebels from the Tamil Tigers group, with atrocities recorded by both sides. The vast majority of documented cases of […]

Indian Premier Narendra Modi’s visit to the country last week drew attention to the wider political dimensions sandwiched in the so-called Plantation Tamils’ issue. Current Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran has been at great pains to drive home his several ‘justifications’ to demand a merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces by citing the Muslims in that province as being ‘Tamil Speaking People.’ Just a fortnight ago we heard Ceylon Workers Congress President MP Muthu Sivalingam make reference to plantation Tamils settled in the Vanni District, mainly Vavuniya, who are said to be facing all sorts of discrimination, whose votes have been assiduously, and hitherto unsuccessfully, sought by the TNA. The discrimination might be stemming from that as a lever to persuade them to […]

Secretary to the Public Representation Committee on Constitutional Reforms, Winston Pathiraja, in an interview with the Daily Mirror, says a new Constitution is the need of the hour. He feels power should be shared between the centre and the periphery. Excerpts of the interview: As the Secretary to the Public Representation Committee that deliberated with the general public on Constitution-making, how do you see the importance of people’s views? As the coordinator of the outreach programme of constitutional reforms and constitution-making, I must start by saying as to why a new Constitution is required to be drafted at this juncture. There are so many concerns to be addressed when a Constitution is being drafted. We have had three Constitutions in the country; in 1947, […]

Government to celebrate the Killing of more than 40,000 Tamil civilianS and more than 1000 LTTE Leaders and their family members who surrendered with WHITE FLAG after UN negotiated the surrender on 19th May as VICTORY DAY. Tamils banned from remembering their siblings or children killed and made to disappear in thousands by Sri Lankan forces on 18th May as Maveerar day. Police Intelligence personnel have received information to the effect that various commemorative events have been planned in the North to honour the LTTE leaders who were killed by the Sri Lankan forces under the guise of observing War Heroes (Maaveerar) week which falls later this week. The UN reported that more than 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by the Sri Lankan forces in month of […]

By Ariyaratne Ganegoda The Kohilawatte Mosque, in Sedawatte, was attacked with stones and clubs, around 1:30 p.m. yesterday, by an unidentified gang, resulting in extensive damage, Wellampitiya Police said. Police said the gang had however fled on being challenged by several persons who had been painting the mosque in preparation for the Ramadan fasting season. When area residents had informed them, Minister Rishad Bathiudeen,…… Members of Parliament S.M. Marikkar and Mujubur Rahuman, as well as Members of the Western Provincial Council representing the Colombo District, A.J.M. Faisz and Arshad Nizamdeen had rushed to the Mosque to size up the situation. Wellampitiya Police, using CCTV camera recordings at the Kohilawatte Mosque, are probing the attack. No arrests had been made at the time of writin

MULLIVAIKAL, SRI LANKA, May 15, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ — Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka and worldwide begin a week of mourning to commemorate the 8th anniversary of mass killing of Tamils in the final months of the war in 2009, which saw tens of thousands of Tamils killed and Tamil women raped by the Sri Lankan Security forces. According to UN’s Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka, around 70,000 Tamils were killed in the first six months in 2009. Attached: Documentary – Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields. A recent report by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) published details of Sri Lankan Military run “rape Camps”, where Tamil women are being held as sex slaves. This is one of the rare documented “Rape Camps”, […]

Two shop worker brothers who groomed young girls with free sweets and mobile phone top-ups have been jailed for years of abuse. Ilvarasan and Vinothan Rajenthiram groomed nine girls before plying them with alcohol and assaulting them. Ilvarasan, 26 of Wallasey Village, Wirral, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison, while Vinothan, 27 of Wigan, received 18 and a half years. They were found guilty of a total of 30 charges spanning more than five years. ‘Sexual gratification’ Sentencing them at Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Norman Wright said “both abused their position in the shops to target teenage girls”. The grooming happened at convenience stores the brothers worked in at Birkenhead, Walton and Garston between 2010 and January 2016. Judge Wright said […]

Sri Lanka’s human rights record will come under review in November during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Burundi, Korea and Bolivia forma a Troika which will review and submit a report on Sri Lanka in November. The UPR is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations […]

KUWAIT CITY, May 14: A man and a woman of Sri Lankan nationality were arrested from a brothel in Khaitan area. According to security sources, when Farwaniya security men received a tipoff about a Sri Lankan expatriate who turned his apartment into a brothel, they monitored his movements. After confirming the information, they raided the apartment and arrested him and a woman with him. During interrogations, the suspect confessed that he brings clients to his apartment and offers them with services of flesh pleasure at a cost of KD 5 per person. He also revealed that he has been involved in this business for three months. The two suspects were referred to the concerned authorities for necessary measures. Meanwhile, securitymen arrested an Egyptian expatriate for […]

The UNHRC which passed three successive resolutions on the need to investigate war crimes has prescribed an international hybrid court. Sri Lanka has blamed the pro-LTTE Tamil diaspora for backing the genocide charge against the government as the country prepares to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the end of the three-decade long civil war. On May 12, the Tamil nationalists started a week long commemoration of what they termed the genocide of Tamils. Northern Provincial Council members held events in parts of the North to remember the victims of the bitter conflict by lighting oil lamps. “We want to commemorate the genocide of over 100,000 Tamils in 2009,” MK Shivajilingam a northern provincial councilor and a hardline Tamil representative had said. “We need an international investigation into genocide,” […]

The Tamil parties fell silent yet again as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka on May 12 — his second trip to the island nation in two years, to reinforce the traditional connect between the two nations. His two-day visit to Sri Lanka to attend the biggest Buddhist festival ‘Vesak Day’ as its chief guest at Colombo from May 12 to 14, and not visiting the Tamil areas saw no strong opposition in Tamil Nadu Modi’s second visit comes at a time when China is trying to make inroads in the island nation. “Sri Lankan Minister Mano Ganesan feles Indian origin Tamils feel assured and confident under President Maithripala’s government but will the Eelam Tamils here agree?” asks BJP national secretary H. Raja. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s […]

BY Kavindya Chris Thomas and Cassendra Doole The issue pertaining to the matter of dual citizenship held by Parliamentarians, former and current, has attracted much public attention since it emerged in Parliament a fortnight ago. The matter that only concerned MP Geetha Kumarasinghe has now extended to other Parliamentarians and Provincial Councillors. And on a countless number of times Kumarasinghe has claimed that she is “clueless” about the technicalities of the issue. Thus, Ceylon Today made an in-depth inquiry into the pros and cons of this issue with the assistance of Peoples’ Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL). The PAFFREL stance is that all Parliamentarians, policymakers, lawmakers and others involved in the legislative process should not choose to have dual citizenship while being in […]

05/14/2017 11:56 am ET Ruki Fernando is a human rights activist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This interview has been edited lightly. Maithripala Sirisena came to power more than two years ago, yet most of the government’s plans – pertaining to constitution-building, economic reform and anticorruption efforts, among other matters – haven’t been implemented. How would you rate the government’s progress thus far? Did you expect that more would be accomplished? Some significant steps were taken in 2015, and hopes were high more would follow. But since 2016, progress has been very slow, very little, very disappointing, very frustrating. And prospects of real progress, radical reforms, appear very bleak now in 2017. The coalition government is built upon an awkward power-sharing arrangement between the United […]

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 13 (ANI): Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced construction of 10,000 houses for Tamils in Sri Lanka, noted Tamil activist Pazha Nedumaran on Saturday said that there were already 4000 houses built, but the government in Colombo has been settling Sinhalese people in those colonies. “Already 4000 houses have been built in Tamil areas. They are supposed to be given to the Tamils in Sri Lanka, but the Singhalese government allocated these houses to Sinhalese. They were settled at Tamil areas with the help of Indian government. The problem is that Sinhalese wanted to annihilate Tamils,” Nedumaran told ANI. He alleged that local people were being settled in Tamil areas with the help of the Sri Lankan Army. Addressing […]

BY Manekshaw Former President and the Chairperson of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga had pointed out the need of holding an international investigation into the alleged war crimes believed to have been committed during the previous regime. The former President was addressing a press briefing of the ONUR last Tuesday after the National Reconciliation Policy of ONUR was given Cabinet approval. The Former President played a key role in forming the National Unity Government which came to power in January 2015 with the slogan of good governance. With her background as the first woman Executive President and as the daughter of two former Prime Ministers of the island, Chandrika had come across several hurdles in her personal life as […]

Citizens Want CJ To Hold Rape Victim Vithya’s Trial-At-Bar Before Tamil Speaking Judges A group of people from rape victim Sivaloganathan Vithya‘s native village Punguditivu, Jaffna has written to Chief Justice urging him to hold the trial-at-bar of murder and rape case before Tamil speaking judges instead of in Colombo before Sinhala speaking judges. Priyasad Depp – The Chief Justice In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice on 11th May, the signatories said they were extremely concerned about reports that the trial-at-bar against those indicted for the murder and rape of Vithya will take place before three Sinhala speaking judges in Colombo as opposed to a trial-at-bar in Jaffna. “The transfer of the case before three Sinhala speaking judges would mean that they will have to […]

(Lanka-e-News – 14.May.2017, 11.00PM) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his arrival in Sri Lanka , following an earnest request made by deposed president Mahinda Rajapakse met the latter on the 11th (night ) . Based on reports from Diplomatic sources , though the meeting was short between them , Mahinda had to face a long tirade from Modi. After the dinner hosted by president Maithripala Sirisena , Mahinda was given an opportunity by Modi to meet him at the residence of the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka . Mahinda in fact secured the appointment only after making pleas to the Indian High Commissioner .This was because Mahinda was not given an appointment based on the agenda of the Indian P.M. Poor Mahinda […]

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Well-known Sri Lankan Journalist – activist Poddala Jayantha was in the news last week when he sent a letter to the Director-General of Information Dr. Ranga Kalansuriya who is also the Secretary to the Cabinet Sub Committee on granting measures of relief to media persons who were subjected to various types of harassment and oppression during the period 2005 – 2015. Media reports said that copies of the letter had also been sent to the respective cabinet ministers serving in the cabinet sub – committee. Upon seeing the media reports, I contacted Poddala Jayantha now living in the USA to verify the contents of media reports and ascertain whether they were accurate. Jayantha affirmed that they were correct and confirmed that he had indeed […]

WHY SHOULD TAMIL’S VOTE FOR LABOUR Venue : Trinity Community Centre, East Avenue, London E12 6SG, Time : 3.00 pm Date : 13.05.2017 General election 2017: Jeremy Corbyn says Brexit issue ‘settled’ Jeremy Corbyn will say the issue of whether Brexit happens has been “settled” as he formally launches his party’s general election campaign. The Labour leader will promise to protect “Britain’s vital industries” after the UK has left the EU. He will tell supporters in Manchester they have “four weeks to transform Britain”. Mr Corbyn has also insisted he will stay on as Labour leader even if the party loses at the general election. He told BuzzFeed: “I was elected leader of this party and I’ll stay leader of this party.” Mr Corbyn will be […]